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ENTRY DEADLINE:
We will begin emailing winners for this the week of June 9, 2012, which means you have until June 8, 2012 at 11:59 to enter.

FROM THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

POWER RANGERS SAMURAI: THE TEAM UNITES (VOL. 1)
Master Xandred, the evil Nighlok leader, has reawakened. And it¹s up to Red Ranger Jayden and his Mentor Ji to form a new team of Samurai Rangers! Bound to duty by ancestry, Kevin, Mike, Emily and Mia join Jayden in his quest to abolish evil from the world. Soon, the teens must work together, with the help of their inherited symbol powers, to battle and defeat the menacing Nighlok monsters. Meanwhile, Xandred moves forward with his plan to cause the waters of the Sanzu River to rise with human tears and flood Earth. The Samurais must risk everything to keep their friends, family and civilization safe.

Featuring non-stop energy, incredible transformations and the power of teamwork, these four adventures are filled with serious Samurai action!

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES*
Auditions
³Train Like a Ranger² featurette
Character gallery
Power Ranger Swarm Video
Trailers

POWER RANGERS SAMURAI: A NEW ENEMY (VOL. 2)
A new threat lurks deep from the Netherworld and the future of mankind rests in the hands of the only team with the knowledge and powers to defeat them!

Jayden, Kevin, Mia, Mike, Emily and Antonio must battle Master Xandred¹s menacing Nighlok monsters as they also learn to hone their powers and energies from Mentor Ji. Whether it¹s saving civilians from physically crippling insults, mastering new Megazords and Beetle Cannons, the Rangers must do whatever it takes to bring down the Nighlok monsters. Unfortunately, a mysterious new enemy appears on the horizon, intent on battling Jayden. Who will prevail?

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES*
Bloopers
³Ask a Ranger² featurette
Weapons gallery
Trailers

Technorati Tags: Contest, Giveaway, DVD, Power Rangers Samurai, Season One, Volume 1, Volume 2

Food, shelter, and clothing. These are some of our basic necessities. I have been in positions where I was not always sure where my next meal was coming from and now I don’t have to worry about those things. Still, I remember what a scary and humbling experience it was to need help from others. Growing up, my mom was a single mother that received no help from my father. She was on Food Stamps, which are now called SNAP. She didn’t get a whole lot of money because she worked full time, but what she did get she used every penny to feed me and my brother. Today, the same program that helped make sure I wouldn’t go hungry is being threatened and it makes me worry about all of the kids that are going hungry now and the hundreds and thousands of kids that will be joining them if cuts to SNAP go into effect.

Known as SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was created to help people in their time of need. SNAP is in danger because of something known as the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill provides legislation for funding to the SNAP program and for the SNAP education program. Severe cuts to SNAP are on the table. Regardless of what you think of public assistance, nearly 50% of the recipients of SNAP are children. These children will go hungry and they did not ask to be born into a world that would deprive them of one of their basic necessities. Millions of children and families will suffer if cuts to SNAP are put into effect.

This is sad for a number of reasons, but when you consider that we live in a country that is one of the wealthiest in the world, you realize that children starving should not be a major issue that we need to worry about. Sadly, when people turn a blind eye, it becomes a very real problem.

As one of the wealthiest nations in the world, we cannot afford to let our children go hungry. Ensuring our children have enough to eat must be a priority for our nation.

You can learn more about the Farm Bill at the No Kid Hungry website.

By now I am sure you’re wondering how you can help. The best answer to that is to learn all you can about the Farm Bill and to let Congress know that you stand with the kids of this country and do not want to see any of them go hungry! Visit the No Kid Hungry website and contact Congress to show your support today!

Technorati Tags: Share Our Strength, No Kid Hungry, SNAP, Food Stamps, Childhood Hunger, Congress, Farm Bill

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CLAIMING YOUR PRIZE:
Winners will be sent an email shortly after the end of the contest. To claim your prize all you will need to do is send us your address in a reply to the congratulation email that you will receive. If we do not receive a reply from you within three days, your winnings will be forfeited and your prize will be offered to another contestant.

ENTRY DEADLINE:
We will begin emailing winners for this the week of April 10, 2012, which means you have until April 9, 2012 at 11:59 to enter.

FROM THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Winner will receive one of each Nylabone product:

Advanced Dental Care Kit
Silly Strands Tease and Toss
Ex-Large Bacon Flavored Dura Chew Bone

To enter just let us know what you love about your pet!

Technorati Tags: Contest, Giveaway, Puppy, Dog, Pet, Doggie, Nylabone, Advanced Dental Care Kit, Silly Strands Tease and Toss, Ex-Large Bacon Flavored Dura Chew Bone

From Nick News:

What if you found out you couldn’t play football anymore because your school didn’t have the money to pay for uniforms and equipment? What if your library didn’t have the money to buy books? What if a lack of funding silenced your school’s orchestra? What if you had to take a bus to school and there were no buses?

Nick News with Linda Ellerbee will answer those questions along with some additional questions in the 30 minute special, “If A School is Broken, Can Kids Fix It?” The special premieres March 18 at 9PM EST on Nick.

More from Nick News:

In the special you’ll see kids proving that you’re never too young to make a difference, especially when it comes to something as important as getting a good education. It’s happened all over the country. Schools are running out of money, and important pieces of education have been cut.

From the Kids:

“I always thought that every school would have sports,” says Julia from Massachusetts.

“There’s no librarian, there’s no metal shop, there’s no wood shop, there’s barely a music program,” says Cody from Garberville, California. “You can’t cut any more money from us. Otherwise, there won’t be a school!”

“Schools should be a right for kids,” says Fawna from Ettersburg, California. “And I feel like my right is being taken away.”

The stories you will hear about are both shocking and inspiring.

“Kids who are willing to fight to get a well-balanced education are taking back their schools,” says Ellerbee. “And teaching us something in the process.”

Finally:

What did the kids in Hull, Massachusetts do when their school lost its sports funding? How did some kids in Dallas bring their library back to life? How did some Chicago kids react when money troubles threatened to take away their orchestra? And what happened when California politicians told some rural kids they could no longer ride school buses?

The answers might surprise you. And the kids will inspire you.

Technorati Tags: Nick News, Linda Ellerbee, Kids, Children, Public School, Fail, California, Chicago, If a School is Broken

Continuing its legacy of serving up family-friendly game shows, Nickelodeon has ordered 40 brand-new episodes of its popular game show from the 1990s, Figure It Out. Set to premiere later this year, Figure It Out challenges celebrities to guess kid contestants’ unique talents and skills. The series is slated to begin production in April in Los Angeles, Calif.

Every Figure It Out episode features a panel of celebrities trying to guess the unique feat or accomplishment of two kid contestants each, in three rounds of game play, by asking ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions and being bombarded by messy visual and tactile clues. For every round the panel fails to figure it out, the contestant wins a prize. If, after three rounds, the panel can’t figure out the kid’s unique feat, the contestant takes home the grand prize. Each game culminates in the reveal of the talent with an in-studio demo.

Figure It Out originally aired for four seasons on Nickelodeon from July 1997 to December 1999 and was hosted by Olympic gold medalist swimmer Summer Sanders. Panelists from the original broadcast included Kenan Thompson, Aaron Carter, Amanda Bynes, Chris Jericho, Coolio, Jack Hanna, Sherman Helmsley, Evander Holyfield, Joe Namath, Julius Erving, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mike O’Malley and Mya, among several others. The series was created by Kevin Kay and Magda Liolis with Eileen Braun and Magda Liolis currently serving as executive producers.

Nickelodeon has a long history of developing original, hit game shows. The first game show that aired on the network was Double Dare in 1986, featuring Nick’s signatory slime. Over the next 16 years, Nickelodeon launched many other game shows including hits such as Finders Keepers and Super Sloppy Double Dare (’87), Family Double Dare, (’88), Make the Grade and Think Fast (’89), Wild and Crazy Kids (’90), Get the Picture (’91), GUTS and Nick Arcade (’92), Legends of the Hidden Temple (’93), Global GUTS, (’95), Figure it Out (’97), You’re On! and Figure it Out: Family Style (’98), Figure it Out: Wild Style (’99), Double Dare 2000 (’00), and Nick Robot Wars and Scaredy Camp (’02). Six years later came Family GUTS (’08), BrainSurge (‘09) and Family BrainSurge (’11) — the new wave of game shows for the first generation of Nickelodeon parents and adults that grew up watching shows like Double Dare and GUTS.

Season to date, Nickelodeon’s most recent hit game show, Family Brain Surge, has averaged 2 million total viewers

Technorati Tags: Figure It Out, Summer Sanders, Nickelodeon, Game Show, Reboot

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ENTRY DEADLINE:
We will begin emailing winners for this the week of February 23, 2012, which means you have until February 22, 2012 at 11:59 to enter.

FROM THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
When Dylan Schoenfield (Sarah Hyland), Woodlands Academy’s top girl, accidentally drops her expensive “it” handbag into the mall fountain, she is surprised that film geek, Josh Rosen (Matt Prokop), retrieves it for her. In exchange for rescuing her bag, Dylan must agree to be the subject of Josh’s documentary film. Dylan hopes the film will help her campaign for Blossom Queen – she claims that winning is her only life goal. Josh plans to make a hard-hitting expose about popularity, but, as he gets to know Dylan, he learns that the real Dylan is much more interesting than the persona she’s created. At the last minute, Josh decides that his film should introduce this awesome girl to the world, but how will Dylan react when she sees it?

Technorati Tags: Contest, Giveaway, DVD, Disney, Geek Charming, Teen, Tween, Television

Note: Since we only eat in the Dayton area, the below experience is highlighting the last two trips we have had to the Ruby Tuesday’s in Dayton, Ohio.

The Ambiance:
Ruby Tuesday’s provides a typical bar and grill experience. The restaurant has a large bar where patrons can sit, if they so choose, but there are also booths and tables to choose from. The lighting is on the darker side, as you would expect from a bar atmosphere, but the mood lighting is nothing to complain about. RT’s attempts to show their slightly upscale nature by using white tablecloths and cloth napkins on each table. All in all, the ambiance is one of the most static things about Ruby Tuesday’s and it is generally a pleasing experience.

The Food:
The biggest problem that I see with the food at Ruby Tuesday is that it either done extremely well or incredibly unappealing. Unfortunately, most of the offerings sound great so you just never know what you’re going to end up with until you try it.

When you order most dinners you get a side and the garden bar or you can opt out of the bar and get two sides. The first time we visited most of us got the garden bar. It is literally a bare bones salad bar. There are two types of lettuce, salad toppings, a few pasta salad options, and dressing. They offer it in endless portions, but it tends to be something that people only hit once. After all, unless you’re planning to only eat salad, you probably won’t re-visit a straight salad bar twice. When we visited the second time I opted out of the Garden bar because I felt it wasn’t worth the side.

One thing Ruby Tuesday’s offers that is amazing (though it sadly is not counted as a side) is their broccoli cheese soup. This soup is fabulous. It’s a flavorful broccoli and cheese broth that has chunks of broccoli and is finished with some cheddar cheese on top. The thick breaded onion rings are offered as a side and they are definitely pleasing. If you are quirky like me and you eat your onion rings with tartar sauce (does that make you quirky?) you will be greeted with a freshmade tartar sauce. I found the sauce to be acceptable, though I prefer mine better. I don’t fault them for this though because I generally do.

Ruby Tuesday is known for their ribs and they do not disappoint for the most part. I found them to be flavorful, fall-off-the-bone worthy, and they were trimmed so they were not at all fatty. The sauce was tangy without being too acidic or spicy and the rub that appeared to spice it before saucing added a good flavor to it.

As far as steak went, the Petite Sirloin was fairly seasoned and relatively free of fatty areas. It was not the best steak I have had, but it stands up to most sirloins that I have had at bar and grill restaurants in the past. The most important thing to me is that it would be cooked to my liking and it was a little doner than I prefer rare to be, but it was still acceptable so I ate it with little complaint.

On the first trip Louisiana Fried Shrimp accompanied the steak. The shrimp was marvelous. It was crunchy with a nice seasoned crust and firm, well-cooked shrimp. Though I was told it was pretty spicy, I found it to be seasoned well with mild forms of heat, but not truly spicy at all. That being said, if you ignore the connotations that all Louisiana labeled items should fry your mouth, then this shrimp is amazing and you should certainly give it a try.

The second trip D ordered the steak with the Lobster Mac and Cheese. I was the most disappointed with the Lobster Mac. The cheese sauce was bland and lacked any type of real seasoning or flavor beyond the obvious taste of cheese. Even then, the cheese taste was rather tame (and I love cheese). It was too heavy and rather thick, as well. This only served to weigh down the dish and made me want something lighter. The most disappointing part of this dish was that the lobster was chewy and overcooked. I can only assume that the lobster was prepared and then added to the macaroni and cheese before it was baked, which added to the cooking time and essentially overcooked it. D had a few bites and was displeased with it and I did the same. It’s not something we would order again and we certainly would not recommend it.

On our second trip, when D ordered the steak and Lobster Mac, I decided to go with the Chicken Bella. Chicken Bella is described as chicken breast served with mushrooms (hence the name) and artichokes in a cream sauce. Sounds divine, doesn’t it? I thought so, but what I ended up with was less than thrilling. The cream sauce lacked any flavor and was far to thin. It didn’t coat the food at all and the flavor was so bland that if it did make it onto the chicken, it added no flavor at all. The mushrooms were good and the artichokes were cooked fine, though they were more of a simple topping as opposed to the main part of a dish. So, what you have is a plain chicken breast that lacks loads of flavor, a wonderfully pleasing, but not plentiful enough, topping for the chicken, and a sauce that would have been as successful as if they had put water on the plate. In a word…Bummer.

To put this last trip into perspective, D and I had a fair amount of food left, but opted out of take home boxes, knowing full well we would not eat these left overs.

The Drinks:
When I was a server, I learned quite a bit about bartending. In fact, I used to charge the other waitresses to make their drinks because mine always got them better tips (that and I always knew how to make things when they didn’t). One thing that I always go by when it comes to tending bar is that an amazing drink has excellent flavor, but does not have a heavy taste of liquor. Unless you’re drinking a shot, you should not have to feel the burn that comes with many alcohols. Ruby Tuesday passes in this regard on some drinks and fails on others. All in all, each drink we tried had amazing flavor, but one of them tasted so much like alcohol it ruined the fruity flavor of the drink.

With that in mind, we highly recommend the Ruby Relaxer, which had a number of alcohols in it, but it tasted magnificently tropical. On the other hand, we recommend skipping the Frozen Sunset Strawberry Daiquiri, which offers diced strawberries and good traditional flavors, but sadly reaks of alcohol.

The Service:
On our first visit to Ruby Tuesday’s we had excellent service. We were very happy with our server and even went out of our way to inform the management that our server was amazing. She was quick with refills, didn’t come to check on us at the wrong time (I can’t ask for anything, if my mouth is full!), and made sure we were never waiting for anything that we needed. The only thing she forgot was the Cheddar Biscuits, and honestly, Red Lobster does them far better so it wasn’t a big loss.

The second visit produced service that was a huge letdown. After having a drink, I asked for a Coke and it took eight to ten minutes before I received it. I am pretty sure that I saw the neighboring tables server more than we saw our own. He did not ask us if we wanted the Shrimp Fondue (this was supposed to net us a free order, but I didn’t want it so I didn’t press) and when he came to ask if we wanted boxes, with about half the food left on our plate, he didn’t ask if anything was wrong with it when we said no. He also wasn’t incredibly familiar with the menu and rather than checking had to come back to inform of us about things after we ordered to see if we still wanted things. It was definitely not the best service. I have had worse, but I haven’t had much worse in this town. There has only been one other time where I received worse service and that was in the Downtown Dayton Uno’s (that’s for another review).

So, what it comes down to is that Ruby Tuesday’s does have some redeemable qualities. However, I recommend being familiar with what you’re ordering because what sounds good and what tastes good is two different things. For us, I don’t know that we will be back to Ruby Tuesday’s again. There are so many good restaurants in Dayton that I hate to spend my hard earned money on a crap shoot and to me, that’s what Ruby Tuesdays is these days.

Technorati Tags: Ruby Tuesdays, Food, Restaurant Review, Bar and Grill, Sirloin, Lobster Mac and Cheese, Ruby Relaxer, Service, Louisiana Fried Shrimp, Fondue, Poor Service

Lately, all I see from Wright State in terms of disability services are things that make me angry/unnerved. However, in all fairness I will try to list some good things about them, too.

The Tunnels
If you look up anything about WSU and accessibility you will hear about the amazing tunnel system that allows you to travel underground from one building to the next. It is true that the tunnels reach from the Creative Arts Center all the way to the Student Union and hit all the buildings in between. This does not include access to the dorms of the family housing units. If the weather is bad or you wish to use it, there is a shuttle service. Of course, each van is often packed with able-bodied students and you may have to wait if other wheelchairs are using the service (an empty/near empty van can hold two wheelchairs). Unfortunately, the shuttles often tell people with disabilities to “wait for the next one” even when there are open spaces on them. In some cases, this has led to waits of over an hour, with three or more shuttles declining students in wheelchairs rides. The vans also range in the amount of comfort and stability they will offer physically disabled students.

The tunnels are amazing, though I hasten to call them an accessibility feature for a couple of reasons. First, any student can use them. It is often I will see the tunnels packed with able bodied students with physically disabled students (wheelchairs and helper dogs and visually impaired students, especially) fighting to get through the crowds. Second, at least a few of the elevators in the tunnels (that get you to the classrooms and other parts of the university) are not accessible to physically disabled students (they need able-bodied assistants to hold quick closing doors and to push buttons that they cannot reach).

The Student Government
Credit where it is due, WSU’s current student government attempts to make all the accommodations for disabled students as they can. They might not always know how to make things happen, but when D brings disability issues to them, SG wants to help in any way they can. It is obvious that they want the school to be as accessible as possible so that all students can have a great college experience. Granted, this attitude could change from year to year based on the new SG leaders (the current government has many graduating Seniors that will not be back), but having a Director of Disability Affairs that cares about their job is a good start.

Greek Life
Anyone with a preconception of how Greek Life is would be shocked by WSU’s representation. For the most part the Fraternities and Sororities at Wright State are fabulous organizations that want to include people of every race, ethnicity, ability, and sexuality. While it does not always appear to be as prevalent as other schools, WSU’s Greek Life offers the brotherhood/sisterhood that you would find in other schools, but they are also more willing to accept all types of people with the hopes of making the world a better place. D is currently hanging out with guys from one of the largest Fraternities on campus and really seems to enjoy the friendships he is making and the activities he attends with the other guys. Most of all, I think he enjoys being included in something that you wouldn’t think disabled people would normally be included in.

Student Groups
Many of the Wright State student groups are disability-friendly. While not many disabled students get involved with some of the campus groups, most of them are willing to include any of the disabled students that want to join. Even the groups that are unfamiliar with people with disabilities state that they would like to accommodate students with disabilities as long as they know what is needed to allow this to happen.

In my opinion, (and mind you these observations are that of an able-bodied observer) these are the best features of Disability at Wright State. Now, we need to consider the parts that are bad/non-existent/horrible.

The Office of Disability Services (ODS)
When I think of an office purely to speak to the needs of person’s with disabilities, I think of an office that will help students adapt to college life, aid them in class issues, and will work as a liaison to make the school a more accessible place for people with all disabilities. WSU’s ODS promotes independence in students. What that means in the grand scheme of things is that they don’t do too much of anything. ODS does hire and maintain a group of personal assistants that help disabled students do a variety of tasks, but how in depth that program goes seems to depend on when you attend school at WSU.

When a disabled student comes to WSU for the first time they are given a class to learn how to advocate for themselves and how to hire their own PAs. There is no database or system to finding PA’s and often times people with disabilities are entrusting their care to absolute strangers their own age. They are hoping that these students (the PAs are semi-trained students) will show up and do what needs to be done. Things like note-taking requires the student to ask classmates to take notes for a gift card, rather than being paid (apparently since they are taking notes anyway, it’s an added bonus for them). If the student does not find another student to offer their notes (it happens to students all the time) then ODS will hire someone, often someone that has no knowledge of the subject, even though the disabled students grade often relies on these notes.

It’s also worth mentioning that in most cases, it is up to the student to find a way to pay for and/or copy said notes. Since D needs his in a computer format, his notes are brought to ODS and copied so that ODS can deliver these notes to him via email. This is a skewed system that prevents him from getting his notes in a timely manner. Last quarter, he received his notes for his final exam, AFTER the final had happened. It seems mildly irresponsible that ODS has so little interest in helping students with disabilities to succeed. Of course, they would say that the student needs to communicate better, and it is their fault their accommodations are not being met. I have seen the amount of emails D has had to send and how many of them have been ignored. If a student is told they will receive help and they do not receive that help, how many times must they try to fix things before it is no longer their fault?

When it comes to test taking, writers are available to students with disabilities. Students bring their test schedule to ODS and schedule tests with the office. A writer helps the student read and write the test in order to make sure that all of the work is done properly. Many times test takers will be late, there will not be adequate space for all scheduled students to take their tests, and the test takers are not trained adequately to provide test taking services. I have heard horror stories of ESL students as writers or writers that cannot spell simple words or form simple sentences. This sort of thing is unacceptable considering a person’s grade is on the line. It is so bad that some students negotiate with their professors to allow for them to have someone write the test for them out of the class, but without using ODS.

WSU PA Station
There is one PA station on campus that has assistants available to help students during the day. Though I am not positive I believe the PA Station runs until 7 PM. In theory, it seems awesome that this station exists, but it is not without fault. For one thing, the campus is rather large and there is only one station. In the event that someone is on the opposite side of campus and has an emergency, it’s highly possible that they will not make it to the PA station (something that could be alleviated by having two PA stations).

The level of care offered at said PA station also depends on who is working at the station on any given day. Some students need to use the PA station, but prefer to have their own attendants help them. This should not be a problem, but I know of at least one example where a student was told in order to use the PA station he had to have the available PAs help him and not his own attendant, even if he was more comfortable having their help.

For students that live on campus, they have to schedule after-hour bathroom breaks (doesn’t that sound inconvenient, if not impossible?). While the school used to offer a bathroom “pager” and an emergency pager for overnight emergencies, only the emergency pager exists. It is also clearly explained to PAs with the emergency page that it cannot be used by students who have PAs that do not show up to get them out of bed or for bathroom usage (unless it is a true bathroom emergency).

Athletics/Sports
WSU offers adapted rec. This is just what it sounds like. They offer adapted sporting opportunities for students with disabilities. This program is run (if you want to call it that) by a grad student, which is fine. However, there is not enough time to devote to the program, so they are either not spending enough time on it or they are not interested in the position they have been given. Adapted rec consists of the same activities over and over again for the quarter (things like bowling and kayaking are popular options). These things are not advertised well, often students are sent emails the day before/the day of the activity (a quarterly schedule and better advertising, seems to be a wiser option) so often the amount of students that could show up, do not. They do not offer wheelchair sports teams either, though this would be an easy option for them to implement as it seems to be something that many students are interested in when asked. The school also offers a fitness facility for students that at one point had an adapted area with hand bikes and other disability friendly equipment. Last time I checked the facilities, these things had been removed and are no longer available to disabled students. As a result, it is a rarity to see disabled students in the fitness facility.

The Sports Complex
I could write an entire post on the new Wright State Sports Complex that is being built (and contributed to a tuition hike for all students). The school has a Football Club and while the stadium is being built it is currently not accessible. If disabled (wheelchair bound or physically impaired) students want to attend events at the sporting complex they are unable to do so unless they want to risk sinking in the grass or staying on the sidelines…in the parking lot! During Fall Quarter, tailgate events were all the rage. It was rather depressing for disabled students though because while they could get to the tailgating (it occurs in the parking lot) when it became game time they were stuck in the parking lot, secluded from the Raider game because of their lack of physical ability. Eventually, the Sports Complex will be accessible, but for now it remains an expensive eyesore that was built for a school that has no NCAA football team. Not to mention that the university could have spent the millions for the stadium on accessibility repairs and academics, where the money needs to be spent.

Housing
Disgusting is the only way to convey the conditions that disabled (and non-disabled) students are expected to live in at some of these housing facilities (specifically the family/adult housing). Here I can only give you a personal example. We lived in The Village, which is the family housing units on campus. We paid $270 per week for less than 600 square feet and two small bedrooms. This is the only two bedroom accessible unit on campus. We were given our unit quickly and it was never cleaned before we moved in. The eight year old outdoor carpet was not changed. The bathroom had mold in it. The mold was subsequently peeled off the wall, washed off the wall, and power steamed, but it came back because housing did not want to spend the money to fix the problem (we know several other students that have mold, as well). In the spring maintenance sprays for bed bugs and other creatures. When they did that for us, we ended up getting cockroaches from one of our neighbors apartments. Add in the fact that the tile in the bathroom was so dirty they could not power steam it clean, the counter tops were stained, and students are often stuck with charges for the conditions of their apartment when they leave, it should be obvious why these apartments are not worth the money, much less the torture that the students go through to live in them.

Shuttle Service
Many schools that are far less accessible than Wright State have better transportation options. WSU offers shuttle stops around campus and at locations around the dorms and The Village. If it is raining or snowing, disabled students either have to fight the elements (which may not be possible) and end up stuck in snow or wet, or they have to miss class. This is unacceptable. Likewise, while shuttle service goes into the evening at the college, it does not go through the dorms after a certain point in the late afternoon. Considering most events happen at night, many students have to wheel home from the school as opposed to being offered a shuttle ride. Door to door service would be a better option for disabled students and this would be something that could easily be implemented for after hour activities and in cases of weather problems. However, these options do not exist for students.

The Ableist Mindset
Whether it is professors, administrators, ODS, or other organizations, there is a pervasive attitude of ableism that is a problem for a school that claims to be accessible. If disabled students have a problem with a professor or someone official on campus they should be able to go to ODS to receive mediation services. However, often what happens is that ODS will initially take the side of the able-bodied professor or official unless they disabled student can prove they are correct/honest. ODS also involves themselves in disputes that do not necessarily concern their office, as long as a disabled student is involved. They will represent themselves by sitting in on meetings for various departments that have meetings with disabled students that are advocating for their rights. Personally, I feel it should not be the position to help able-bodied figure heads when they are having disputes with disabled students. It is their job to assist those with disabilities.

Wright State has a lot of promising majors and offerings, but for those with disabilities it is important to remember before you choose WSU that they have a long way to come where disabilities are concerned.

Technorati Tags: Wright State University, WSU, Disabled, Disabilty, Physically Disabled, Wheelchair, ODS, Office of Disability Services

We arrived earlier than our group, but a table wasn’t ready so we went to sit at the bar and wait. Franco came up to me immediately and was very friendly. He offered me a drink and I ordered a Bloody Mary. I received a tall glass filled to the brim with a delicious concoction that had plenty of liquor though it was made so that you could not taste it (perfect for someone like me). I have to confess though, as good as the drink was, the huge olives that he added to the drink were better. He could have given me the entire jar and I would have happily munched while waiting for my table.

After about an hour wait we were sat down at our table and were able to put in our drink orders. I was on Bloody Mary number two, but D ordered a Fuzzy Navel at my insistence (he always listens to me when I tell him what to drink…I just know). Not surprisingly his drink was fabulous. It also came in a tall glass and it tasted of peaches all the way down. For an appetizer we picked (or rather, D picked) the Fried Ravioli.

Occasionally we switch off on appetizer choices because he might want something more than me. This was the case on this visit to Franco’s. I wouldn’t say I abhor ricotta cheese, but I don’t love it. It’s not a real melty cheese so when you put it in some things I feel like you just end up with this mealy, unappealing, not too flavorful cheese taste. So, I wasn’t looking forward to these. However, despite the ricotta, these ravioli were delicious. They were lightly fried on the outside and filled with luscious, melted cheese on the inside. The dipping sauce was a mildly flavorful, but obviously homemade tomato sauce. For a reasonably priced appetizer I would have no problem ordering these again.

For dinner we went in different directions. I had Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola and Fettucini in olive oil with portabella mushrooms. D had Manicotti in meat sauce. Mine came with a simple salad with a little red onion and tomato. His came with a cup of soup. The salad was a standard salad. Everything was fresh, crisp, and had a delicious, yet simple Ranch dressing to accompany it. D’s soup must have been to his liking, because the only complaint he could muster was that he wished it would have been bigger. He had the Pasta E Fagioli, though plans to have Minestrone on our next trip to Franco’s.

Filet Mignon Francos

The Filet Mignon, while somewhat expensive was worth every single penny that D paid for it. This steak was perfectly rare (most restaurants make even the rare steak a little more done than I would like) and it melted in my mouth. With the gorgonzola cheese on top it offered this luxurious salty, cheesy, heavenly mix of meat and cheese. It was so juicy and so delicious that steak sauce was not required (and I love steak sauce). In this case, I felt the sauce would have taken away from the meat so I did not use it and I never felt anything missing by its absence. D cannot normally eat steak when he is in his wheelchair, but I gave him a bite and it literally melted in his mouth. He seemed a little sad he didn’t try and order it for himself.

The pasta was perfectly cooked and had nice flavor from the olive oil. The mushrooms were absolutely divine, as well. Though I didn’t try it, (I’m kicking myself now) I think the best bite would have been a mushroom with the steak and cheese. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Manicotti Francos

D’s Manicotti was just what I would expected it would be once we got to this point in the meal. The sauce had meat in it, though it was very subtle. The tomato based sauce was the star of the show. It was full-bodied and stood up to the cheesy manicotti quite well. It tasted like there might have been some wine cooked into the sauce, but either way it was clearly made in-house. The two tubes of pasta were filled with a ricotta mixture and baked until the cheese was melted and the dish was hot. You couldn’t ask for more in a simple, classic pasta dish.

When it came time to have dessert, we actually ordered some! This is surprising because usually we will say we’re going to get dessert and we never make it. I think that we figured the rest of the meal had been so amazing that we couldn’t ignore the possibility of dessert. We pondered a couple options of gelato and chose peach. With that we ordered a slice of the peanut butter pie (featured in the image at the top). The gelato was flavorful and made for an amazing palette cleanser. It had a strong peach flavor, was smooth like gelato should be, and was the perfect end to a perfect meal.

I say the gelato was the end, because after taking a taste of the rich and decadent peanut butter pie we decided to wait until the very end for the gelato. The peanut butter pie was more like a peanut butter cup pie, in my opinion. When I think peanut butter pie I tend to think of the smooth, almost peanut butter silk varieties of pie. This was a thin slice with a graham cracker crust, a layer of chocolate, some peanut butter and then covered in more chocolate with crumbled bits of peanuts and peanut butter cups over top. Some whipped cream was also added to cut a smidge of the richness. While this was good, it is probably something we would not order again. Next time I am rooting for the tiramisu. Since I share my dessert with D, I suppose I will have to convince him that’s what we need to try next.

If you’re looking for a good, upscale dining experience in Dayton and you find yourself on the edge of the Oregon District, you owe it to yourself to give Franco’s a try. Franco was a delight to his customers, the food was fantastic and the atmosphere was perfect for casual or romantic dining. We will definitely be back.

Technorati Tags: Francos Italian Ristorante, Manicotti, Restaurant Review, Food, Peanut Butter Pie, Gelato, Filet Mignon, Review, Food, Fried Ravioli

I’ve never considered writing about these things until now, but once I made the decision to do it, I knew I wanted to interview R so we could see what he has to say about his problems. I know how I feel about them (I will get to that in other posts), but I wanted to put something out there about his feelings. I do not have these problems so I can only imagine how it feels. Perhaps these are normal feelings for someone with his problems.

Personally, I would hope that all people with these problems wouldn’t feel this way. If they do, I hope they are able to learn to control these issues before it is too late for them.

As for R, he is currently on about five medications that he takes daily and while surviving, this regime does not make him take an active interest in his life. He is prone to depression bouts and moments of anger, but nothing real promising has been seen in quite some time. Now that we live in Dayton, he will be getting a Psychiatrist (with a new med regime, hopefully) and a new Psychologist and hopefully they will be able to help him take a more active interest in himself and taking more control of his life.

For now, let’s see what R has to say about his situation. (Side note: The words typed came straight from R’s mouth, so they are not edited.)

What is your Diagnosis?: Okay, I have what I like to call the gruesome trio of mental disorders. A combination of bipolar disorder, Aspergers Syndrome, and a moderate to possibly severe case of OCD. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s mild.

Can you describe Bipolar in your own words?: Let’s see. Bipolar to me is (I am trying to think), where the mind goes between two different states. A state of being perky and happy to a state of being down and depressed, but there is also a third state that comes spur of the moment and that is the anger. Each state of mind has its own state of effects when put into place. The perky side does what it describes; it keeps a person happy. The depressed state of mind makes sure that the person is always sad and always thinking of things as a worst case scenario. And, then in the anger state of mind you just feel a complete sense of hatred, no sense of remorse for what you are doing at the moment. Total anger.

Can you describe Aspergers in your own words?: Aspergers is a social disorder where the patient isn’t able to pick up social cues at the right time. If they do pick it up they either do it late or too early. Not only does the patient miss social cues, but the patient is also socially awkward when in social situations. Aspergers is also a form of high functioning autism. The patient can talk and they have a hyper-ness about them, but they still original characteristics of the autistic disorder. Some might fidget for certain periods of time with certain objects. Others might flail their arms.

Do you have any struggles because of these disorders?: Yes. One of the main struggles is my mood swings, caused by Bipolar. As I said, anger is the third state of mind in Bipolar. It can range based off of how angry I get. Sometimes it is mild and somewhat manageable to where it is full out uncontrollable. Another struggle I have is my inability to time my social cues right and my social awkwardness from the Aspergers Syndrome.

Describe what your manic thoughts are like: When asked about my manic thoughts I would usually say nothing about them, but to be honest there are like some weird painting that no one can quite understand the message of. My thoughts are like those of an untamed animal. They are rapid, non-stop, whirling thoughts, just spinning around in an endless train of thought all mixed up together. The thoughts are never quite grouped together. They are in bits and pieces. Because of this I can never quite understand the full train of thought. Some thoughts have to do with the possibility about my life, while others have to do with what I could imagine would happen if I was doing something in my career; if I was writing a book, making a movie, or creating something. I try to imagine what would happen. But right when I think I can grasp the thought, it either scatterbrains or I lose the train of thought altogether.

Side note: My thoughts are like a spinning wheel that never stops. It’s like “Round and round she goes, where she stops, nobody knows,” except that she never stops. In another scenario its like the hamster on a hamster wheel. The hamster runs as fast as he can to keep the wheel going, but when he gets tired he stops but the wheel keeps spinning and it makes the hamster dizzy. It’s endless.

Are you addicted to anything?: Yes. Technology, to be specific, computers, video games, any of the things that a usual teenager might have including cell phones – though cell phones haven’t been a problem for quite a while.

What do you do when you’re not allowed these things?: What do I do? Sometimes I try to find other ways to occupy my time. Being that I used to have these things they would waste most of my day. Now I need to find other ways to occupy my time. Sometimes I write or try to roleplay with myself. Sometimes I play little games. And sometimes when I can seize the opportunities I take these things (the ones I am not supposed to have) and I use them.

If you know you’re not supposed to take them why do you?: Because I know there is a purpose in them that I seem to find. The purpose might be writing or playing games or even trying to draw art for no reason at all. I just seem to find a purpose in using it….in a way that isn’t being used by it’s original owner. It gives it a full purpose in life.

Don’t you feel bad knowing you aren’t supposed to take the things you do?: Sometimes I feel bad, yes. Other times I don’t because sometimes I know I am not supposed to take them but I want to make sure they get utilized fully.

Is there anything that will stop you from giving in to your addiction?: When I try to think about it I think there might not be, but other times I think that I will get those things back that I have lost. That I will be able to use them again and that next time I will use them for the right reason. I would like to use them for work and business purposes.

If you know that you won’t be able to have these things until you’ve learned to control yourself, why do you continue to take them?: Because sometimes I think I will never get them back. So I take them.

When you become mad enough to become violent (usually when caught with something), how does that make you feel?: It makes me feel scared. It makes me feel scared for everybody that is around me when that spur of the moment feeling hits because I know that the third state of mind is at the point where it is uncontrollable. I know that I will hurt anyone to make sure that my secrets are not found out on whatever I have taken.

What happens when you try to fight those feelings of anger?: I try to fight the feelings but eventually I just lose the battle. I fight and then I lose. No ifs, ands, or buts. I just lose.

Do these things define you or is there more to you than just these mental problems?: No. They do not define me. They think they do but they don’t. What I am is more than what you see. What I am inside could be any of these things; a writer, a filmmaker, a video game designer or creator, but I like to think of myself as someone who’s creative mind might bring people to their knees.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers?: I don’t know. Bipolar can be uncontrollable at times. You have to pick your battles. If you pick the right battles you can get away unharmed. If you pick the wrong ones, you could end up getting hurt, though I don’t like to think of that happening.

Technorati Tags: Bipolar Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, OCD, Interview, Personal, Teenager, Medicine, Technology, Addiction